And Still We Wait

   I don't think there's any such thing as new windows and doors- I think it's all a horrible joke. If it wasn't for the debris surrounding the entire building, I would think that the entire project was an altered state of some sort. And now it's raining- Fall has arrived. I've never seen an entire apartment building full of such annoyed tenants- it's as if the place has the worst PTSD on the planet. Most of us are sleep-deprived as well- the City decided to do a big road construction job on 56th- and while we're glad that potholes are being fixed, we could really do without the pneumatic jack-hammers pounding away all night. And the dump-trucks spreading gravel. And the yelling flaggers and workmen. We've got 24 hour chaos, right here in River City, whether we like it or not.

   Yep, Twilight Zone in the flesh. Particularly the mysterious Inspectors- who descended one day to take scrapings off our popcorn ceilings- and who acted all twitchy when I told them that I knew what they were testing for- should I say it- dare I say it- I bet you know what they were worried about!  But I'm not supposed to tell anyone. I can bet it wasn't anthrax they were expecting. Actually, we're hoping this means they have to move us into the mythical Apartments of Joy while they remove it all- which they should have done in the first place before any of this silliness got started. Renovating a building with tenants still in it is just plain wrong. We're still not supposed to talk to the construction crew- but it really is such a lot of fun to pop out at them from behind siding and shrubbery- they startle so well!

   I'm missing my privacy fence. Too many weirdos from 56th can now walk right up to my windows. I hate keeping the shades pulled all day, and Mr. Boo is tired of having to wriggle his 16 pound body through the blinds just to keep an eye on the squirrels. He seems relatively immune to the noise from street and building, unlike his CatMom. But he is getting very clingy when I go to leave the apartment- I guess noise with Mom is better than noise without Mom- cats can be very subtle in their psychology. Unlike the tenants. Nothing subtle about pissed-off tenants. Lot of doors slamming around here!

A Brief Interlude

Hello, Kiddies- I'm waiting for the next construction storm to arrive, the removal of old windows and doors for new and improved windows and doors. After spending last week thoroughly rucking up my walls carving the holes for the window and slider, the guys told me that this is the week for installing the glass- I don't know if I trust these guys to handle glass objects- seems kind of risky. Mr. Boo is not much impressed- but he does like to roll around in the Sheetrock dust until he turns his black parts white- creative camouflage of some sort. The spider festival has slowed down considerably- maybe they give off some sort of warning smell when you squash them- some kind of pheromone that shouts "Don't come in here! Crazed woman with the Slipper of Death!" Now, I really don't take pleasure in smashing spiders- honest- but I take less pleasure in getting big honking spider bites all over my body- especially if some of these critters are Hobo spiders. Nuff said.
   I'm still hoping to snap some pix of the carnage we're living in, but as I can't afford a digital camera right now, it'll be a bit before I get them developed and onto disk- yes, I know, I'm still living in the stone age- so sue me. You try living on $674 a month, and hope to buy a decent digital cam. Oh, well, maybe for X-mas. Hint, hint.